It’s a caution against doing business on the basis of “you know somebody” or “you heard it from a friend” ... a warning against “the buddy system” of hiring.

Specifically, it’s a warning to Jimmy Haslam against getting too carried away with Tennessee Volunteerism, so to speak.

One of the perks of being a wealthy benefactor of one’s favorite college football team is relationships with the icons of the program.

There is no bigger benefactor to University of Tennessee football than the Haslam family, and no alumnus close to the stature of Peyton Manning. Manning’s coordinator in Denver is Browns candidate Adam Gase.

It would be a heady thing for an owner to be in the confidence of one of the all-time greats.

We’re guessing Manning is one of the chief salesmen promoting Adam Gase. We’re warning about the weight of the endorsement.

Haslam’s decision on Gase should be based on an array of experts able to share a dispassionate view of the 35-year-old, first-year coordinator.

Maybe they’ll all think he has a chance. Maybe they’ll worry about bringing so little experience to such big authority. Can he coach? Yes, in the limited forums to which he has been subjected.

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Can Gase be a great head coach? I wouldn’t be relying on Peyton Manning, who would succeed with any decent coach, for that call.

I would encourage Haslam to learn what season-ticket holders think of Gase. Perhaps he will find that his customers have an open mind on the young man. If he finds that a large percentage of customers are dead-set against Gase, it should be factor in the hire.

Sure, one must trust one’s own conclusions. Insofar as last year’s conclusions were faulty, the conclusions of others had best not be ignored.

Coaches, newly hired or otherwise, have to block out the noise. Easier said than done if the noise is real loud.

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Our previous Fresh Brownies post itemizes when other NFL head coaches have been hired. The moral of that story: It’s getting late. No one else who has a head coach now hired him in February.

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Here’s Mr. Halsam’s letter that was posted within the hour on the team website’s front page:

“Fans,

“I thought it was important to take a little bit of time to update you on our head-coach search. We have had the opportunity to speak to a number of outstanding candidates. We have purposefully been very methodical in our approach. We believe it is very important to stay disciplined to this process and to interview all of the candidates on our list. We are strongly committed to finding the right person to coach the Cleveland Browns.

“We understood from the beginning that if we wanted to speak to all of the coaches on our list that we may need to wait until they have completed their participation in the playoffs. We are prepared to wait as long as necessary because this is a very important decision. Everyone in our organization is committed to finding the right leader for our team.

“We believe the head coach of the Cleveland Browns to be a very attractive position. We have one of the youngest teams in the League, a roster that includes five Pro Bowlers. In addition, we have more salary-cap room than all but one NFL team. We also have three of the top 35 picks in the upcoming draft and five of the top 83 selections.

“We are very much looking forward to adding a strong coach to our football team. On behalf of the Cleveland Browns, I cannot thank you enough for your valuable support and passion that you show for our team.”

“We look forward to communicating with you again after the search process in complete. Thank you again for your phenomenal support and loyalty.”

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The letter is signed at the bottom. The signature is hard to read, but it looks appears to say “James A. Haslam.”